Surnames!

[danne-gerous.livejournal.com]

I know this is my 2nd post today, but please forgive me...

My brother and I have decided to change our surname.  I don't want to get long and mushy here, but the background of this decision is that we have no connection to our father.  He left when we were babies and we've never met him.  In an attempt to get to know him when I was a senior in high school, we spoke on the phone and briefly conversed over e-mail and I quickly discovered he wasn't the kind of person I wanted to have as a part of my life.  So here I am, 23 years old, and it's almost like my name is a burden.  We bear the name of a family we aren't a part of.  We are our own family and we want to change our name to reflect our family.  I hope to adopt someday and I don't want my children to have his name. 

So, we are changing our surname but have no idea where to start.  If you have any suggestions for surnames or know any resources for researching surnames, I'd really appreciate it!

Thanks in advance!

Oh, my name is Malory Danne and my brother is Paul Anthony.

EDIT: My mother's maiden name is Paul and my brother was named in honor of her family name.  Pretty sure he won't go for changing his name to Paul Paul, lol.

Comments

[miss-tee.livejournal.com]

since your brother's name is already your mom's maiden name what about using your maternal grandmother's maiden name?

[a-tergo-lupi.livejournal.com]

This. Mom has two family names, presumably.

[danne-gerous.livejournal.com]

Thanks, it's something to think about. I'm not sure it's right for us... I don't know if I'm articulating this properly, but I commented above: "I have no idea if that makes any sense, but names are so defining and since we've lived this long being defined by a name we couldn't relate to, we want something individualistic for ourselves."

Thanks for commenting! I'm definitely gonna think about it.